The Love Story That Never Was
by DeathWhisper
Summary: Kanzaki Shuurei, A girl that quit playing tennis after the death of her brother. But what happens what she meets the Seigaku Team? Will she have the urge to take up tennis again? Or will the shattered memories of her brother block her way? EchizenxOC
1. Prologue

**The Love Story That Never Was- Prologue  
**

EchizenxOC

My first Fanfic, with my favorite OC character in it. Its not going to be very long I'm afraid, but I just might continue it if you guys like it.

(And dont worry, The seigaku team will appear in the first chapter : D hooray!)

* * *

_Hes Gone._

The only person that I had. The only person I believed in. The one that I relied on, The only one in my family.

_Forever, Gone. Never appearing in my life again but the shattered memories of him._

I **cried**. I **begged**. I **screamed**.

But he just wont come back.

* * *

I received it. The most heart-breaking phone call. Saturday Night, at 9:00pm

"Hello?" I clutched the phone in my hand while pouring myself a glass of warm milk from the jug

"_Hello? Is this The Kanzaki residence?"_

"Yes, it is."

"_This is a call from The Hospital, Kanzaki Shoka was sent in the emergency room due to a serious injury, it seems like he may need life support. We ask you to come to the hospital right away incase anything critical happens to him"_

_Click._

My world froze. I dropped the glass of milk, the glass shattered all over the stone floor and the milk poured all over my bare feet.

**I Ran. I Ran as if The world has come to an end. **

But why does it seem like I'm running as fast as I can, but getting nowhere?

**o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o**

"Room 102...102...wheres room 102!!" I panicked. I couldn't take this any longer. My older brother is in the hospital, near death. There was nothing I could do.

I saw it. Room 102, it was there. Right in front of me. I stood there, staring at the number. This is where I find out, the ending to this tragic setting.

_What was I wasting time for? _

I slammed opened the door and rushed inside, I looked around.

I saw some of my tennis club members there, they looked at the bed with sad faces and teary eyes.

**No...**

I Turned to where they were looking. There was a bed, with a large white sheet over it. Under that White sheet, was the truth.

I slowly walked towards the bed, I knew what this meant.

_No, it has to be a mistake!_

I stopped at the side of the bed. I slowly reached my hand to the top of the sheet, and gently pulled it down.

It revealed a face. A pale, White face.

**The face that belonged to Kanzaki Shoka.**

Tears slowly ran down my cheek, I fell on my knees and cried in great despair.

"Brother..."I ran my hand gently down his cheek

"Brother...wake up...wake up! this isn't funny...its a joke RIGHT!?" I shook him by his arm, and begged.

I sniffed

"You liar...You said you would protect me...Why did you leave me like they all did...WHY!?"

**He just wouldn't wake up.**

_'What was happening? I knew this was a joke! WHY ISN'T HE WAKING UP!?'_

"Shuurei...Its not a joke."

I turned around, teary-faced to my teammate

She looked at me with despair

"Shoka-kun...has already left this world."

My eyes widened, I couldn't believe this. It was just too sudden.

The doors opened, a doctor and two nurses came in

I watched them. They each took a side of the bed, and prepared to roll it out

"No..I wont let you!"

I clung onto the bed, This was my limit

"HES GOING TO WAKE UP! I WONT LET YOU TAKE HIM AWAY!"

"Shuurei..." One of my teammates put a hand on my shoulder

I quickly pushed it away "Let go! YOU DONT KNOW HOW IT FEELS TO LOSE SOMEONE!"

"Shoka...SHOKA!"

My teammates hung onto me while they took him away, This was the last I will see of him.

They let me go at once as they exited.

I fell onto the cold ground, Tears madly dropped onto the stone floor. I clutched my hands madly and cried all I Could.

**He was Gone.**

* * *

"WHAT?!" Miko, one of my best friends from the regulars tennis club's face was flushed

"why are you quitting all of a sudden!?" another one of my teammates said

I handed the resignation letter to the team captain, Mizuhara Takeshi. He looked at me with a serious face

"Kanzaki, I know this is hard for you. Your Twin sister ran away from the family, Your parents got into that horrible car accident. Now Your Brother-"

"shut up."

They stared at me

I looked at them with glaring eyes

"None of you know how losing the people you love feels like."

I took off my regulars uniform, and handed it back to the captain. Then I started to walk off, back facing them

"**Tennis Just brings misfortune. There is no meaning to it**."

I will never set my hand on a tennis racket, ever again.

* * *


	2. By the name of Kanzaki Shuurei

**The Love story that Never Was- Chapter One: **By the Name of Kanzaki Shuurei

The first chapter : D please review and tell me what you think about it

* * *

"Come on Kaidoh-san, We have to get to Practice!" Kawamura Slipped on his regulars jacket with SEIGAKU on the back

Kaidoh grunted and took out a racket from his bag

"You forgot your racket." He grabbed one from the cub and tossed it to Kawamura

"Oh Yeah Tha-" He caught the racket and clutched it tightly in his hand

"**BURNING!!"**

Kaidoh sweatdropped _'Does this always happen?'_

Kawamura faced the door and shot his tennis racket up in the air "**YEAH!!"**

Echizen came through the door and scratched the back of his head "Hey Kawamura, have you seen-"

**"ECHIZEN!!" **

Ryoma Flinched and took a few steps back

"**LETS GO KICK SOME BUTT TODAY, KAIDOH!! FOR WE ARE SEIGAKU!! S-E-I-G-A-K-U!! BURNING!!**"

"Yeah..what were you saying?" Kaidoh let go of his ears

Ryoma sweatdropped and exited out the door "Nevermind."

Kaidoh sighed and followed him

**o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o**

"Hurry up and pick up those balls, freshman!" A Senpai watched as Horio and his two friends picking up the balls one by one and putting them into the basket.

_'__Dammit...I really wish I would hurry up and become a regular, just like Echizen..' _Horio Thought, and snickered as he picked up a ball and tossed it into the air

"DONT LAUGH! If captain Tezuka comes back and still sees this mess, you don't know what he would say!" The Senpai Ordered and pointed at them

The ball hit Horio back in the head

"H-Hai..." They said as they picked up their speed

"Ohayo!" There was a sound of a cheerful voice as always

"A-Ah..Kikumaru-Senpai" The Senpai scratched the back of his head and smiled

Eiji Kikumaru grinned and greeted the Freshman with a warm smile "Good Morning!"

"Hai..good morning Eiji-Senpai"

"Well, I guess we'll start morning practice." He picked up his racket from the ground and tossed it into the air, then caught it with the other hand.

Kachiro looked around questionably

"Eh? Wheres Oishi Senpai?" He turned and asked him

"Ah..hes making some arrangements with Tezuka." Eiji walked off spinning his racket around his wrist "So annoying"

"I see." They stared at eachother

"...Arrangements For what?" Kachiro asked

"I don't know." Another one answered "Probably for an upcoming game or something"

"YOU IDIOTS!" The Senpai held a broom up and threatened them

"DID YOU NOT HEAR ME!! HURRY UP AND KEEP WORKING!"

"R-Right" They picked up their pace and immediately started to pick up the balls

"Horio-kun!"

Horio turned around once again and dropped a ball from his hand

"Whats the matter Sakuno?"

She stopped and blushed, and looked down at the box of bentou in her arms

"Have you seen Ryoma-kun?" She shuffled her feet

"Ah..I don't know." He shrugged and went back to picking balls. _'How should I know where he is? my 2 years of experience doesn't tell THAT much'_

"Ah..okay." Sakuno was dissapointed, but tried to hide it. She didn't want anyone to know yet that she had a huge crush on Ryoma

She walked off looking around the Tennis court

"Tsktsk." Horio shook his head "So Obvious."

**o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o**

"Oi, Fuji!"

Fuji looked up from cleaning his racket "Yes?"

Kikumaru ran up to him and panted

"Want to have morning practice with me?"

"Sure."

He grinned and scratched his head

Momoshiro came up to them drinking a can of pop

"Hey, have you guys seen Echizen?" He took a gulp

"No, didn't he come today?" Fuji held his chin

"I saw him here earlier, he must be somewhere dozing off again" Eiji put his hands behind his head and walked off

_'That lazy ass..'_

* * *

The Machine made a sound as the Ponta juice rolled down to the opening

He grabbed it and opened it with a loud fizzy noise, There was no one other than Ryoma Echizen that likes to drink Ponta Juice a lot.

He held the can up and drank the juice with relaxation as he walked, until he bumped into someone

It was just lucky that he didn't spill the Juice

"Sorry"

He looked up and saw a girl wearing a white cap similar to His, but just plain white that was tilting to the side. She had straight black hair with a bit of brown shading that was tied in low ponytails going down her front that was up to her chest. She was wearing a white jacket and black sweatpants.

_'it doesn't look like shes from our school. Probably another spy' _He walked off while taking another sip of the Ponta, not paying attention to the girl.

The girl that looked around his age watched as he walked off, taking slow sips of his drink. She shrugged and clang the 100 yen together in her hands

She turned back to the vending machine and looked at the choices of soft drinks and fiddled with the 100 yen in her hands

That was when she noticed there was another 100 yen in the change box.

She quickly scooped it out with her hand and turned around, but he was already no where to be seen

The girl pouted and looked at the 100 yen in her hand, then put it into her pocket

_'Hes probably from the tennis club. I'll give it to him when I see him'_

She pushed her own yen in, and out came an orange ponta. She grabbed it and put it into her pink backpack, she then threw it around her shoulder and walked off.

"Hey, where do you think your going?"

She looked up and noticed that she was surrounded by 5 muscular guys

"You are..?"

One of the guys tossed a tennis ball in the air and started bouncing it with the racket

"How Insulting. Do you really not know us anymore?"

She tilted her head full with confusion _'Who...'_

_--_FLASHBACK_--_

"6-0 Game to St. Kagurei Gakuen"

He clutched his arm as it bled madly from his wrist

"Y-You..."

She put her arms on her waist and tapped her foot

"Thats what you get for messing with St. Kagurei Gakuen" There was suddenly loud whispers coming from the crowd, then it became cheers

--END OF FLASHBACK--

She stared at the Guys wrist, it was healed already, but it left a huge scar circling around his wrist

"I'm finally going to get payback for what you did to me" He slammed his fist in his palm and made a face "Your unlucky that I lived"

"I'm going to make it hurt for you 100 times more than it did to me.." He drew back his racket and prepared to slam it against her face

She did nothing, but smirked

The guy twitched _'WHY YOU...'_

In no time at all, she grabbed the end of the racket and spun it around, his wrist made a cracking noise and the racket dropped to the ground.

He fell on his knees and clung to his wrist

"BOSS!" the other four gathered around him

The girl picked up her backpack from the ground and walked away

_'You...I'll never, NEVER forget this...'_

"1-0! Game Fuji Syusuke" The judge yelled out

"Dammit Fuji, when did you become so challenging?" Kikumaru stood panting and sweating, holding the racket in both hands

"Or rather, when did you suddenly become weaker?" This was the first time Fuji talked back, it was very unusual

Eiji looked pissed, he didn't hold back and did one of his Kikumaru beams

_'Easy. I'll just use my Higuma Otoshi to defend it...' _Fuji thought and got into position _'useless.'_

_'Damn, I was careless'_ Kikumaru ran up to the net to serve the ball back

_'I WONT LOSE!'_

He moved his hand a little **too** back, and served it back **way** too hard, it bounced off Fuji's square and went over the Tennis courts to the outside where the benches were.

"15-0"

**o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o**

The girl clasped her hands together and looked around the view, she set her backpack down and sat on the bench, watching the morning tennis practices that were going on. Its been three years since she had played herself, so this was a good review. Although she wasn't planning to take up tennis again, or ever.

"**HEY! WATCH OUT!"**

She immediately looked forward, and saw a tennis ball heading her way

"CRAP!" Kikumaru Widened his eyes

Fuji opened his eyes- but then looked shocked.

The ball stopped. It was now spinning slowly in the hand of the girl.

Everyone from the Tennis court stopped, and stared at her with amazement.

She raised an eyebrow and was wondering what was so shocking about this. She stood up and drew the ball back, then threw it back to them. Unbelievably, It went over the Tennis Court Barrier and back to Eiji and Fuji's Court.

_she has an amazing throw._

Eiji caught the tennis ball with the face of his racket, and bounced it up and down

'_that second chibi is...'_

They were still all staring at the girl. Not because of her amazing throw and catch, because of such a gender.

_'You'd have to practice months just to be able to do that spin catch with the tennis ball.' _Fuji Thought. _'Shes Good. Not just an ordinary Tennis Player'_

**o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o**

Echizen leaned on the tree in the shadows. He inspected the girl carefully while hitting a tennis ball continuously on the side of his racket.

"Hey. What School are you from?" Momoshiro appeared behind the other regulars and asked

The girl stared at them, then at the rest of the regulars.

"Why should I answer that?" She crossed her arms and looked away, rolling her eyes

"WHY YOU...!" Momoshiro made a fist and took a step forward

"H-Hey, calm down.." Kikumaru and Fuji supported him on both sides, his temper can never be adjusted

"She doesn't look any older than Echizen." Inui jotted down information into his data notebook

"Hey, Shuurei!" A girl with long black hair ran to the other girl

"Lets go, We have to do that errand my mom gave us."

The girl that was sitting on the bench, stood up and obediently followed her

_"Shuurei...?" _Kikumaru thought and raised an eyebrow. He exchanged glances with Fuji

She stopped.

"Kanzaki Shuurei." She corrected.

The all saw as she walked off and left Kikumaru surprised

_"Kanzaki Shuurei..."_ Inui wrote in his secret data notebook as his glasses gleamed in the sunlight

"Interesting." He looked up

"Oh..." She stopped and reached into her pocket and took out a hundred yen

Without turning back, she raised her arm up and flicked it backwards

"That was yours I believe."

_"..."_ Echizen caught it with one of his hands and clutched it in his palm

_'How did she know I was here?'_

**o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o**

Sakuno peered from the tree beside the one Ryoma was leaning on

She sighted and turned her back it and stared at the Bentou box

_'Who is she? Why is she here?'_

She looked at Ryoma, then at the girl, who was now walking off with her friend.

_'She looks strong...could it be that she wants a match with Ryoma-kun?'_ She looked worried

**o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o**

**Meanwhile..**

"My, wasn't That entertaining Tezuka?" Coach Ryuuzaki stood in front of the window facing the tennis court and the regulars that were beginning to resume practice

Tezuka leaned on the wall with his eyes closed and adjusted his glasses with a finger

"Kanzaki Shuurei Eh?" Oishi looked out and crossed his arms. "She seems to be competitive."

He turned and faced Tezuka "Shall we do some research on her?"

"No." Coach Ryuuzaki Interrupted

She peered outside the window

"She will come Back."

Tezuka Smiled and agreed

Ryuuzaki lowered her head "...She is the other Granddaughter of mine, after all."

* * *


	3. New Life, New Home

**The Love Story that Never Was- Chapter Two: **New Life, New Home

The second chapter : D

**NOTE:** in this series, Echizen is 13 years old instead of 12

* * *

"Jeez, I really shouldn't have came with you"

Shuurei groaned and carried the heavy stack of books and papers in her arms

"Well, sorry. You didn't have to come. It wasn't my fault you were that bored" Her friend, Hasegawa Chinatsu struggled with the heavy box of items in her hands while trying to keep her glasses on at the same time, since they kept on slipping off of her nose.

"So, Hows life like with your grandmother?"

"What grandmother? I didn't even know her or that she existed in the first place"

"Well...at least you still have someone left"

There was silence for a few seconds, and Chinatsu realized what she had just said

She made a worried face and tried to see through her friend's expressions

"Shuurei..."

She was spaced out, just staring down with silence as her friend stopped at the red light

--FLASHBLACK--

I stopped at the side of the bed. I slowly reached my hand to the top of the sheet, and gently pulled it down.

It revealed a face. A pale, White face.

**The face that belonged to Kanzaki Shoka.**

Tears slowly ran down my cheek, I fell on my knees and cried in great despair.

"Brother..."I ran my hand gently down his cheek

"Brother...wake up...wake up! this isn't funny...its a joke RIGHT!?" I shook him by his arm, and begged.

I sniffed

"You liar...You said you would protect me...Why did you leave me like they all did...WHY!?"

I turned around, teary-faced to my teammate

She looked at me with despair

"Shoka-kun...has already-

"SHUUREI!" She could hear her friend call out to her

She looked up surprised

"Wh-"

A Truck. She noticed she was in the middle of the road, and a large truck was coming her way and not stopping for her at all

Her eyes widened, she froze and couldn't move at all

She then suddenly felt someone push her on the back, she fell forwards and the papers and books scattered everywhere on the street

"Shuurei!" Chinatsu set the box of items she was holding onto the ground and ran to help her friend

**o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o**

Shuurei stood up from the ground and brushed off the dirt on her pants _'Who...'_

She looked behind herself, there was a guy with brown hair and his eyes were closed, he stood up and patted his arms

"Are you Alright? That was dangerous" He smiled and asked

"Shuurei!" Chinatsu ran over to her and panted "Are you Okay?"

"I'm fine..." Shuurei stared at her friend, then back at the guy

"You're...From before" she pointed at him

--FLASHBACK--

Eiji caught the tennis ball with the face of his racket, and bounced it up and down

'_that second chibi is...'_

They were still all staring at the girl. Not because of her amazing throw and catch, because of such a gender.

_'You'd have to practice months just to be able to do that spin catch with the tennis ball.' _Fuji Thought and looked at her. _'Shes Good. Not just an ordinary Tennis Player'_

She stared back

--END OF FLASHBACK--

Chinatsu stared at The Unknown Man, then at Her friend

"You know this guy?"

"Not really, He was at Seishun Gakuen's tennis court"

He held his hand out and smiled "I'm Fuji Syusuke"

**o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o**

"Grandma..." Sakuno sat on a wooden chair in Her Grandmothers office and twiddled her fingers

"Yes?" Coach Ryuuzaki was writing reports on a piece of paper

"Who was she?"

"Who was Who?"

"Her."

"Who?"

"..."

There was silence for a few seconds

"There was a girl that came to the tennis court.."

Ryuuzaki stared at her

"Shes pretty strong..." Sakuno made a worried face

The Coach put down her ink pen and layed back on the chair

"That girl is your cousin."

Sakuno stared, wide-eyed at the coach

"My...cousin..." She hesitated and relaxed her fingers "...I Have a cousin?"

Ryuuzaki knodded and stood up from the chair, she turned around and looked outside towards the tennis courts

"The Kanzaki Family. Kanzaki Shoka, Kanzaki Shuurei, Kanzaki Shorin" She begun. "Shuurei and Shorin are twin sisters, they are the youngest in the family"

"Kanzaki Shoka..." Ryuuzaki lowered her head and closed her eyes

**Four days ago...**

_Ring Ring Ring  
_

Sumire Ryuuzaki dropped the book down onto the counter and headed towards the phone

She picked it up and looked on the caller ID

It was a long distance call from America.

"Hello?" she said

"_Hello? Sumire Ryuuzaki?" _It was the voice of a man

"Yes?"

"_You are familiar with the Kanzaki Family, correct?"_

"Yes, I am the mother of Kanzaki Suzume"

"_Kanzaki Shoka was reported to the hospital due to a murder incident a few weeks ago, He has passed on"_

Sumire froze _'Passed away? This is too sudden'_ She thought

"_Kanzaki Shuurei will aboard Japan airlines with one of our caretakers to Japan, we ask you to take her in under your care"_

**A Day Later...**

"Well Miss Sumire, We'll leave Shuurei to you"

Ryuuzaki knodded and stared at the 12 year old

Shuurei was looking down, expressionlessly. Her hand was on top of her suitcase and her bangs were in front of her eyes.

"What happened to her Parents?" Sakuno asked curiously

Silence fled in the room

"...They went away in a car accident." Sumire opened her eyes

"Oh...I see..." Sakuno made a sorry looking face

"From now on, Shuurei will be living with us as part of the family"

Sakunos heart suddenly sank "Living with us..."

"Thats right. Hopefully you will treat eachother well and get to know eachother

_'How come I didn't even know myself that I had such a cousin?' _Sakuno looked down

"She will be transferring here as a freshman of Seishun Gakuen"

Sakuno's heart nearly stopped

she didn't have a good feeling of this

**o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o**

"Fuji Syusuke..." Chinatsu said as the three of them walked down the sidewalk

She pointed a finger in the air with surprisement "Ah! Ive heard of you. Your Seigaku Regular's Tennis Prodigy"

"You have good Memory, China-san" Fuji smiled and carried half of the stack of papers

"Heh.." Chinatsu sweatdropped and blushed "Sorry to make you help with these errands"

"Its alright"

Shuurei rolled her eyes and looked the other way, then looked back

"Oh yea, aren't you supposed to be at practice?" She asked

"Nah, I'm on Break" He said as they turned the corner

"I see..."

Fuji opened his eyelid and revealed his sharp eyes, he stared at the Tennis racket bag hanging on Shuurei's back

"Do you play Tennis?" He asked curiously

"..No, I don't actually" She replied as she looked the other way "This is just China's tennis stuff"

"But you were the bes-"

Shuurei gave her friend a look of chastisement

"I see..." Fuji looked forward but eyed Shuurei's expression at the same time

"Thats too bad, I was hoping to have a match with you"

"Ah..."

"Then, what bout you China-san?"

Chinatsu fiddled with her glasses "Ah...yes. Me and my sister plays doubles in Fudomine. We're not regulars though, still a long way to go for that"

"..Fudomine? ..I see.."

"Me and Shuurei will be transferring to Seishun Gakuen, Shuurei's grandmother is the coach of the Seigaku Regulars, Isn't that cool?"

Shuurei looked away _'Chinatsu, you idiot...'_

Fuji stared at The two _'Coach Ryuuzaki...'_

"Ah! We're here!" The three of them stopped at a large house that somewhat looked like a mansion

"I live here" Chinatsu stepped to the front door

"Big house. How many siblings do you have?"

Chinatsu shrugged "A younger brother, two older brothers and a twin sister"

"What about you Shuurei?" Fuji set the box of items on the front porch

Shuurei froze for a second. "Oh...I'm an only child."

"I see."

**o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o**

"Hey Fuji, You went past your break time!"

"Ah...sorry sorry" Fuji scratched the back of his head and walked towards the regulars group

"Morning Practice is over"

"Mhmm"

"Where did you go? We couldn't find you" Momoshiro took out a waterbottle from his bag and unscrewed the cap

"Ah..here and there"

"Good work"

They turned around and saw Their Coach, Sumire Ryuuzaki

Fuji stared at her

--FLASHBACK--

"Me and Shuurei will be transferring to Seishun Gakuen, Shuurei's grandmother is the coach of the Seigaku Regulars, Isn't that cool?"

Shuurei looked away

--END OF FLASHBACK-

"Your classes are going to start soon, you can go and get changed now" She ordered

"Yes!" they ran to the changing rooms

Echizen stared at Fuji's expression

He was hiding something.

**o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o**

**Class 1-2**

Ryoma Echizen slept with his arms on his desk peacefully as he waited for class to begin, this was one of the reasons why he thought morning practice was troublesome, It tires him out a lot

"Hey, Echizen!"

He looked up tiredly and saw Horio, Kachiro, and Katsuo sitting in front of him

"What."

"Sakuno was looking for you at practice"

"Oh"

Horio stared at him

"Jeez, you should really show some emotion sometimes" He rested his head on his hand and closed his eyes

"Hey, I wonder who that girl was"

Echizen opened his eyes and looked at Kachiro

"Who?"

"Ah...god..you really have poor memory when it comes to these things"

"...you mean her?" Echizen pointed to the front of the classroom

The three friends turned around and saw Shuurei and another girl, standing beside the classroom teacher

Horio sweatdropped "Talk about perfect timing"

Everyone quickly returned to their seats as the teacher began to speak

"Everyone, we have two new students"

Echizen stared at Shuurei, then at the other girl

"This ones Chinatsu, and the other is-"

"umm..." Chinatsu blushed "I think I'm supposed to be in class 2-7"

The teacher raised an eyebrow and checked the list that was clipped on the clipboard

She then coughed and looked the other way "Right. Kachiro can take you there"

"I can?" Kachiro looked up from a book he was reading

Sensei gave him a look, and he obediently stood up and walked out the door with chinatsu

"Well then, slight mistake" Sensei adjusted her round glasses and put a hand on Shuurei's shoulder

"This is Sh-"

"Kanzaki Shuurei" Shuurei finished before she did

"..Right. Can you tell us a few things about yourself?"

"Theres really nothing interesting about me" The room was silent for a few seconds

"AH..alright then!" The Sensei slammed her hand on the desk "You may take a seat.." She searched around the large classroom for an empty spot

"You may sit...in that desk between Ryoma Echizen and Katsuo Mizuno" She pointed at the empty desk

Shuurei walked to where the sensei was pointing, without looking at anyone she pulled out the chair and sat down

Horio stared at her and surprisingly blushed

Shuurei rolled her eyes to Echizen

She narrowed them

--FLASHBACK--

"Oh..." She stopped and reached into her pocket and took out a hundred yen

Without turning back, she raised her arm up and flicked it backwards

"That was yours I believe."

_"..."_ Echizen caught it with one of his hands and clutched it in his palm

--END OF FLASHBACK--

_'Him'_ She thought

Echizen payed no attention but just buried his head in his arms on the desk

But he was listening carefully.

* * *

The schoolbell rang, which meant class was now dismissed

Everyone in class 1-2 got out of their seats with excitement and packed up to go home, they roamed around the classroom talking to their friends and discussing what they should do on the weekend

"Shuurei!"

Ryoma looked up and watched as the girl from this morning ran up to Shuurei

"Ready to go home?"

Shuurei knodded and swung her backpack up to her shoulders

**o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o**

"Hello, Nice to meet you. I'm Coach Ryuuzaki's Granddaughter." Sakuno paused "No, too formal" She looked down, then stood up straight again

"Hey. I'm Sakuno Ryuuzaki-" She stuck her tongue out "Too weird"

Sakuno walked down the hallway to class 1-2 as she practiced how she would talk to Shuurei, her cousin.

She sighed

--FLASHBACK--

**This Morning...**

"Sakuno"

"Yes Grandmother?"

"I have to stay after school to finish up the tennis reports. Would you mind if you go to Shuurei's class and walk home with her?"

"M-Me?" Sakuno pointed to herself

"Yes, who else?"

"Hai..I understand"

She walked towards the door, then stopped and turned back

"What class is she in?"

"Class 1-2"

Sakunos heart sank

_'Ryoma-kuns class?'_

--END OF FLASHBACK--

Sakuno stared at the ground, but then straightened up again

"Okay! Once more"

"Once more of what?"

Sakuno flinched and immediately turned back, she saw Kikumaru standing in front of her

"A-Ah..Kikumaru Senpai.."

"Where are you going?" He walked with her at her pace

"I'm-" She suddenly remembered something

-FLASHBACK--

"Oh, and Sakuno"

Sakuno once again turned around "Yea?"

"Its best if you don't let anyone know she lives with us" Sumire said with her arms crossed

"Okay..." Sakuno ran

_'It will be better way anyways' _She thought

--END OF FLASHBACK--

"...G-Going to see Ryoma-kun!" Sakuno blushed and never thought she would make up such an excuse, she turned the other way and sweatdropped

"Ah, okay. Well then I'll be seeing you around" He waved and ran off

She watched as he ran down the opposite way, then sighed of relief

**o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o**

The class was now completely empty except for Shuurei and Chinatsu in it

Shuurei sat at her seat and stared at a photo in her hand

It was a photo of Shoka.

"Shuurei.." Chinatsu sat at the seat in front of her and swifted the chair around to face her

"I wonder...where he is now.."

"Why didn't you leave yet?"

The two friends looked up and saw someone coming in from the door, Shuurei immediately shoved the picture back into her backpack

Chinatsu watched as he walked to the desk beside Shuurei's and reached into it

Chinatsu stared at him

"Ryoma...Echizen?"

Echizen stared back from Chinatsu to Shuurei

"Ah..I've heard about you. The freshman that got into Seigaku Regulars on the first day"

Shuurei widened her eyes, then stared at Echizen

Echizen stared back

"What are you doing back here?"

"I forgot something."

"Oh."

"Oops" Chinatsu saw the time on her silver watch "I have to get home before 3:30, see you guys around" She grabbed her gray handbag and ran off

"China-" She watched as she exited

_'Crap, what do I do now. I barely know where Grandmother Ryuuzaki's house is' _Shuurei pouted and looked at Echizen, who was just about to leave

"Umm.."

Ryoma stared at her "What is it?"

She stared back with her sharp brown eyes "Do you know where Ryuuzaki-Sensei's house is?"

Echizen raised an eyebrow and slid his backpack on a shoulder

"Why do you need to go there?"

"Oh, I'm-"

"KANZAKI-CHAN!"

The two of them looked at the doorway and saw Sakuno standing there

She ran up to Shuurei and grabbed her arm

"Sensei needs to see you" She immediately started to pull her out of the classroom

"See me? For what?"

Echizen watched Shuurei getting pulled out from the classroom

He shrugged and began to walk off

There was a sound of a rip as he suddenly fell to the ground, he rubbed his head and stood up _'Ouch..'_

He then looked on the ground, and saw a piece of paper

"What is this?" He reached his hand to pick it up. It wasn't an ordinary piece of paper

He flipped it around with curiosity, it was a photo of a boy that looked slightly older than he did

The boy had dark hair and he was sitting down leaning on the back of the chair

"Who is this..?" Ryoma studied the picture for a bit "Ah..it must of just fell out of her backpack"

He carefully shoved the half-ripped photo into the smaller picket of his backpack, and walked off

**o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o**

Sakuno stopped running as the two of them reached the side of the road, she panted and let go of her cousins arm

"Sensei needed to see me? About what?" Shuurei fell to her knees and held her chest while madly panting

"Ah..M-My mistake. It seems like it was nothing..." Sakuno turned around and looked at Shuurei

She froze and widened her eyes, She looked at Shuurei from head-to-toe, who was still on the ground with an innocent-looking face

_'Shes so pretty up close...'_ Sakuno thought, and somewhat that made her heart sank but impressed at the same time

"I-I'm-"

"Your Sakuno right?" Shuurei interrupted and pointed at her

"..Y-Yes, Sakuno Ryuuzaki" She blushed and felt kind of embarrassed to meet someone around her age with such maturity

"Ah, that makes things a lot easier then!" Shuurei stood up and patted herself so the dirt will come off her uniform "I never knew I had such a cute younger cousin"

The comment made Sakuno blush even more, Shuurei was a year older than she was and seemed to be more mature than she, Sakuno herself was

"W-Well, I'll show you where our house is, Kanzaki-san"

Shuurei frowned

"We're family, Call me Shuurei"

Sakuno immediately bowed and smiled "Y-Yes!"

Shuurei grinned

**o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o**

The two walked together and Sakuno showed her cousin her new home

Shuurei stood in front of the house, it wasn't that much of a big impression.

"Wow, Houses in America are way larger than these" She walked towards the house and didn't take her eyes off the view

Sakuno sweatdropped and walked behind her

Shuurei slid open the door and walked inside as if it were her own house

Which starting today, she would officially be apart of the Ryuuzaki family

She wanted a new start, a new life, A life that she can just forget the shattered broken memories of him.


	4. Ambition

**The Love Story That Never Was- Chapter Three: Ambition  
**

Third Chapter, thank for reading and review please! : )

* * *

"This is your bedroom" Sakuno stood in front of the door and faced Shuurei, who was just just coming up the stairs

She walked into the medium sized room with excitement, wondering how she would cherish it from now on

She flipped back to Sakuno

"Who had this room before I came?"

"It-" Sakuno hesitated "..my mother and father" She looked down and avoided her cousins eyes, the room was silent and only the sound of birds chirping

"A-Ah, I see...sorry" Shuurei broke the silence and turned the other way

"Its alright" Sakuno smiled "I'll give you some time to unpack"

She pointed at the two suitcases in the corner of the room "Your stuff is over there. Grandma brought them in the other day"

"Okay"

Sakuno walked out shutting the door behind her, Shuurei listened as she heard the footsteps of her cousin walking down the wooden stairs

_'Just like me huh...' _She looked out the window from where she was

**o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o**

"_Meow"_

Karupin walked to the door as Ryoma kicked off his shoes and dropped his schoolbag on the front porch steps

"Oh? Back so early?"

Ryoma eyed his dad, Nanjiroh, the former pro-tennis player

He didn't response, but instead walked up the wooden stairs into his room

'_Jeez, what kind of a greeting was that'_

Echizen flopped down onto his bed, he stared at the blank ceiling of his small room

Taking out the ripped photo from his backpack, he slowly examined the boy that was shown in it.

To the best of his knowledge, it wasn't anyone he knew.

The boy looked slightly older than Ryoma himself, but not too young either. Maybe around 14 or 15 at the least

He was holding a tennis racket over his shoulder, his hair color was abnormal, brown with a darker tone of it blended together that covered one of his large and sharp eyes.

He wasn't smiling, just looking off to the side and frowning a bit

Echizen observed his eyes

They were the same as his, but a little bit lighter.

Curiously, he raised an eyebrow and flipped to the back of the photo

**10.05.06**

"This photo was printed two years ago.." He blinked "I wonder who it is?"

"ECHIZEN! YOUR FRIEND IS LOOKING FOR YOU!"

Ryoma sat up and stepped onto the hard wooden floor, he placed the unknown photo onto the side desk beside his bed

Nanjiroh walked back to the kitchen reading a magazine containing mature content, he left the door open

Echizen walked to the door and looked out, he saw Momo and Oishi standing on the front porch

Momoshiro leaned forward "Hey! We're meeting up with Eiji and the rest at Kawamura Sushi, want to stop by there?"

Echizen folded his arms behind his head and looked the other way

"Can't I have a peaceful rest when just getting home?"

"Come on! Its been so long since we all hung out there!" Momo grinned and clutched his hand, Oishi smiled and nodded with agreement

Echizen peered outside

"Its raining"

"So? Its not everyday we have a lot of free time"

"I guess"

Momo walked down the steps and waved

"Hurry up, we'll wait for you."

**o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o**

"Kawamura Sushi? Never heard of it"

Sakuno stared at her cousin after placing a cup of tea on the desk, Shuurei, who was laying on her pink bed comfortably while reading a romance novel fidgeted as she turned the pages randomly

"its the Sushi shop owned by Kawamura-senpai, the regulars are going there"

"Kawamura..." Shuurei sat up and stared into thin air "You mean that guy that gets all high when he gets hold of a tennis racket?"

Sakuno rolled her eyes to the other side of the room "I guess you can put it that way"

"Oh." Shuurei shrugged and started reading again where she left off

"Why? Won't we just be in the way then?"

Sakuno blushed "W-Well, me and tomo-chan usually tag along so..."

"Tomo-chan?" Shuurei blinked "Whos that?"

"A friend of mine"

"Oh" She sat up and dropped the novel onto the bed "I guess I'll go and see the atmosphere they develop, I won't know anyone there though"

"Its alright, I can introduce you to them"

Shuurei smiled "Okay"

Sakuno payed the rest of her attention to the tennis racket that was sitting against the side of the wall with Shuurei's luggases

"Shuurei..." She started

Her cousin looked up questionably "hm?"

Sakuno looked back at her with a neutral face "Do you..play tennis?"

Silence fled the room, Shuurei stared for a second or two as her smile faded and her face turned pale

"Oh...that?" She looked over at the tennis racket Sakuno was previously looking at and giggled nervously

"I was just about to throw that out, its nothing really I just..." She paused and stared at the tennis racket while Sakuno stared at her

"Anyway, can we go now? I'm hungry" She smiled and changed the subject

"S-Sure..if you want.." Sakuno looked the other way

She grinned and jumped down from the bed, running to get her jacket from the closet

"Can I bring a friend?"

"I-I guess.." Sakuno thought for a moment "Is it that girl that was with you this morning?"

Shuurei froze and looked at Sakuno "Yeah! You sure are clever Sa-" She stopped for a moment "Wait, how did you know?" Shuurei said raising an eyebrow

**o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o**

"Hey! That was mine!" Kaidoh complained as Eiji took the California roll out of his sushi tray

Eiji plopped it into his mouth and chewed "I like these though."

Kaidoh hissed and started eating the rest of his sushi

Kawamura smiled and held a sushi knife in his right hand

"Eat up, its on the house!"

"Right"

"Jeez, All the sushi will be eaten if you guys don't hurry up!"

Fuji turned to the door and saw Momo calling out to Oishi and Echizen, who were still running on the street towards the stop

Eiji sat up and pouted "Momo! You guys are late!"

"Sorry, these two were taking too long" He scratched the back of his head nervously and sweatdropped

Echizen and Oishi ran into the shop, panting as they fell onto the ground

"Jeez, about time!" Momo scolded and took a seat between Fuji and Tezuka

"RYOMA-SAMA!"

The door swung open with a gust and out busted in Tomoka

"Tomo-chan..." Sakuno peeked through the corner and blushed

Momoshiro sweatdropped and stared at them with blank eyes "Why are you guys here...?"

Tomoka shifted her body to the side and did a dramatic pose "_Well,_ if we weren't, who would be cheering for Ryoma-sama?"

'_Jeez, this isn't a tennis match right now...'_

"AH! RYOMA SAMA!" Tomoka looked down and saw Echizen and Oishi still flat on the floor tired from the running

Sakuno stepped into the room and stared at the Echizen on the solid ground

The two of them then stood up and brushed themselves off

Tomoka turned to Sakuno with a questionable look

"Say, isn't your cousin supposed to be here?" She put her hands on her hips and followed Echizen to a chair by Fuji

"Ah..yes. She said she would be here after she takes care of something" Sakuno rubbed the back of her head and smiled

"What? You have a cousin? Ryuuzaki-sensei has two granddaughters then!"

"Jeez Eiji, don't talk with your mouth full" Momo looked the other way, Kawamura laughed

"Interesting. We'll be looking forward to meet her then" Inui grinned and took out his data notebook

"She just transferred to Seishun, I heard she used to be a regular at her school in America!"

"A _She?_ She must of really trained hard to become a regular in a mixed tennis team." Kawamura stated with interest

Tomoka sat down and shook her head "Nope, I think she's the same age as me and Sakuno"

Everyone was silent for a few seconds, then they turned to Echizen

Fuji smiled "Seems like We got competition"

Inui nodded with agreement and adjusted his glasses

**o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o**

_Clunk._

The Racket landed into the garbage can with a noise and sat there as the rain pattered silently onto it making a gentle noise

She stood, staring at it for a few seconds with her hair and clothes all wet from the heavy rain.

Clutching her eyelids together, she swished around and started to run away from the garbage area

_'I won't regret it. I won't.'_

**o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o**

"So, whens your team's next game?"

Mr. Takeshi asked as he clutched a bunch of rice in his hand, molding it into a sphere

Tezuka plopped a cucumber roll into his mouth with his chopsticks

"Just practices for now."

"I see, working hard?"

"Yup."

Oishi sat criss cross legged onto a floorseat "Its almost summer. We don't have much things to do"

"Yeah, I wonder what we sh-"

The door suddenly slid open, revealing a crack of thunder in the sky as the heavy ran fell down

A girl was at the door, she panted as she supported herself from falling down by leaning onto the side of the door. She was soaked from head to toe from the rain

Everyone turned their attention towards the unknown guest

Eiji raised an eyebrow "You are..?"

"Geez" Another girl appeared behind her "Don't go so fast! I can hardly catch up"

Inui stared at her with intention, she looked quite familiar. Realization then struck him

--FLASHBACK--

_Kanzaki Shuurei..."_ Inui wrote in his secret data notebook as his glasses gleamed in the sunlight

"Interesting." He looked up

"Oh..." She stopped and reached into her pocket and took out a hundred yen

Without turning back, she raised her arm up and flicked it backwards

"That was yours I believe."

--END OF FLASHBACK--

Ryoma put his tea down on the table and stared at her "Your the one from before"

The girl raised her soaking head, water dripped down from her bangs

Her large brown eyes gleamed as she scanned everyone in the room

Momo slammed his fist on the front counter and shot up from his seat

"YOU-!"

The two girls looked up and flinched

Kaidoh and Echizen both stood up and prevented him from attacking her or doing anything that would be a nuisance

"JEEZ, I'M GOING TO PAY BACK HOW YOU WERE SO RUDE TO US SENPAI'S THIS MORNING!" He shot his first into the air and struggled to break free I just hate show offs like you the most! Think they're all that..."

"Kanzaki Shuurei.." Inui interrupted, he took out his notebook and adjusted his rectangular glasses "..was it?"

Shuurei panted, but then smirked. '_data huh?'_

Tomoka was strucked from realization, she turned to Sakuno

"Hey, why isn't your cousin here yet? Its been long enough already"

Sakuno blushed and pointed her head down

"T-That is...Her" She sweatdropped and smiled

Everyone froze. They slowly turned their head to Shuurei, who was now walking in the room with her friend

She gave everyone a satisfying look

"What? Is that a problem?"

Tomoka shivered as she held a finger up pointing it at Shuurei

"T-This...isn't this the girl you said that was bullying Ryoma-sama!?" She studdered

Echizen sweatdropped "Did she?" Sakuno waved her hands around denying it, which was true

Shuurei walked to a seat, and quickly sat in it while her friend took the other one beside her

"And you are..?" Tezuka asked

"Eh?" The other girl blinked, but then smiled "I'm Chinatsu, nice to meet you- AH! Fuji senpaiiiiiiiii!" She waved surprisingly and Fuji waved back

"Eh?" Kawamura looked at Chinatsu, then to Fuji "You guys know eachother?"

"No, I just happened to meet both of them this morning while I was having my break" He explained

Kikumaru folded his arms behind his head and rolled his cat-like eyes "Ah, so that was what you were doing..I didn't know you became 'That Type'"

"Ah no!" Chinatsu sweatdropped and waved her hands around "Fuji-senpai was very helpful, if it wasn't for him, Shuurei would have been- OW!"

Shuurei did a gentle slap across her head and put her hands on her hips "Be quiet now, you talk too much"

"Pfft you." Momo settled down cross legged on his seat, changing the subject "I don't believe your that great, nor from the top american team." He turned and looked at Shuurei

She raised an eyebrow and popped a piece of sushi into her mouth "Who said?"

Tomoka sweatdropped and nervously laughed, rubbing the back of her head "Aha..oh you know..rumors..they can't be true you know.."

She immediately turned around and stuck her tongue out '_I hate this.'_

"Is it true? are you really that great at tennis?" Kikumaru jumped up excitingly

"No. I know nothing about Tennis at all." She replied calmly

Tomoka turned around and grinned "Psh. I told you guys." She waved her hand in front of her face and looked the other way, relieved.

"Aw." Eiji frowned "I was hoping we could have a game sometime"

Echizen observed her carefully from the corner of his eye, it obviously doesn't look like shes telling the truth

He lowered his cap and jumped down from the seat, he shoved his hand into his pocket while he slid his tennis racket under his other

'_Are you going to...'_ Fuji watched as Echizen slowly walked to the door, but stopped as he was a few inches away from Shuurei.

"have a match with me then."

**o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o**

The room was filled with silence, no one moved an inch, not even Shuurei herself.

"Hey Echizen.." Oishi finally said, breaking the silence "Isn't this a bit too sudden?"

"Is it?" Echizen said "I want to see how strong you really are" He looked at Shuurei from the corner of his eye

"Its no use if she doesn't know how to play" Kaidoh pointed out

"That doesn't seem to be the case here" Echizen said

"Eh?"

He turned back to Shuurei, who was just sitting there on the seat, emotionless as if he expected her for an immediate reply

'_No'_ She thought '_I can't...I just can't.' _

But what is this sudden feeling of temptation flowing inside of her?

"Shuurei" Chinatsu placed her hand onto her friends shoulder, wearing a concerned look on her face

"No" She choked and finally said

Everyone stared at Shuurei, she lowered her head and clutched her hands, shaking

"I hate tennis."

She suddenly jumped up and grabbed her sweater, running out into the pouring rain, leaving the door wide open.

"Shuurei!" Chinatsu stood up, Fuji pulled her down

"Giver her time."

Echizen lowered his cap and stared on the ground

**o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o**

The rain was stopping soon, but it still poured a lot while she ran down the empty street. There wasn't a single sound heard except for the gentle patter of the raindrops

'_No one understands. No one understands what I've been through. Its just not fair"_

She clutched her hands as she ran, stepping on puddles that got her pants all wet

"Excuse me"

She stopped running for a second and turned around

"Aren't you cold? Where did you come from?" the man asked

Shuurei raised an eyebrow and looked at herself, she was only wearing a light sweater and pants.

"Why do you care? Who are you?" She hoped he wouldn't notice the tears on her face which supposedly looked like rain '_He looks familiar'_

He held out an umbrella and handed it to her "I have another one"

She looked at it for a few seconds, until more tears ran down her eyes. She was sure it was completely visible now

He looked up and flinched. The sun has come out already

"Guess you don't need this" He pulled the umbrella down and smiled

"Whats your name?"

Shuurei looked at him and hesitated. She wondered if it was alright telling a stranger her personal information.

"S-Shuurei..Shuurei Kanzaki" She finally said

The man stared at her for a few moments, then grinned "I see. Thats a nice name"

He took a few steps past her and turned around "Would you like to go get something to eat?"

"Uh..." She looked at her feet and blushed "I don't-"

"Its okay." He smiled "I'm not anyone suspicious."

"A-Ah." She laughed nervously "Okay then..I guess"

"Here?" They stood in front of a burger place

"Yeah, My friend usually eats here so I thought I would give it a try" He pushed the door open and walked in with Shuurei following uncomfortably.

They sat at the window seat as the man placed his things down on the chair beside him, one of them was a tennis racket.

Her heart suddenly sank a little when she eyed it

He stared at her, from Shuurei to his tennis racket

"Are you interested..?"

"Ah.." She blinked and laughed "Not at all. Just observing" she looked at it again

"Do you play?"

The man took a gulp of his juice and placed it back down on the hard table

"Yeah, do you?"

"Oh...not really.."

"I See.."

their conversation was silent for a few seconds as they fiddled around with their drinks

Shuurei looked out the window, emotionless

"Why..."

He looked up and turned to her, She stared back at him

"..Why do you play tennis? What do you aim for?"

He looked at her for a few seconds unconsciously, then began to talk

"My Reason...not just because its fun. I have my own personal goal to aim for. To become a great player, and to enjoy it." He said while playing with his cup

"Have you.." She looked away "Ever thought about quitting?"

He looked shocked

"Of course not"

She looked at him with a questioned look, as if she expected him to be just like her

"Tennis isn't just a sport. If I can react the same way to winning and losing, that's a big accomplishment. That quality is important because it stays with you the rest of your life. There is going to be a life after tennis that's a lot longer and happier than your tennis life." He explained an smiled "Therefore, you should never give up no matter what. If you like tennis, just get out there and play. Success is not final, and failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts"

He looked back at her "Do you have a goal?"

She looked at the clear sky for a seconds, then smiled and stood up slowly

"Now I do."


	5. Final Decision, Ryomas Pride!

**The Love Story That Never Was- Chapter Four: Final Decision, Ryoma's Pride!  
**

Chapter four : D

* * *

The room was silent as the clock in the kitchen slowly ticked to 10:50pm, it was almost 11

Sakuno paced back and forth on the hard tiled floor, chewing her nails at the same time with a worried look

'_I wonder if Shuurei is okay...' _

She suddenly stopped and wore a shocked face '_Could it be something bad happened to her!? Its dangerous for a girl to be outside when its this dark..' _She walked over to the corner and looked out the window

'_She never came back to Kawamura Sushi either..Where did she go..'_

**Click**

Sakuno flipped around with surprise, the door opened

There stood Shuurei, she was now bending down to take her shoes off

Her cousin walked towards her, then past. She walked upstairs without a word

"_Shuurei?_" Sakuno whispered to herself and watched as she disappeared around the corner '_I wonder what happened..'_

**o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o**

The next morning was a bright one, the sun was finally up and the birds were chirping from the trees. There was no sight of rain as the clouds floated in the clear, blue sky above them.

Echizen kicked a ponta pop can as he walked down the sidewalk on his way to morning tennis practice

"Echizen!"

Kawamura ran up to him as he panted, his tennis racket dangling from his shoulders while the rest of the Seigaku members followed

Ryoma waited as he slowly jogged up to him in exhaust, taking deep breaths

"Good Morning"'

"Yeah."

They walked in a group down the rest of the walkway in silent

"About yesterday.." Kawamura looked up and began

Echizen stayed silent

He paused for a few seconds "I Don't think you should of asked her."

Echizen looked blank, but then finally spoke

"Why is that?"

"Well..." Kawamura looked at him "Truthfully, I've heard a lot about her"

Momo frowned "Come on! Are you saying you don't believe in our Echizen?"

"Yeah! Chibi can definitely beat her in less than 15 minutes!" Kikumaru skipped to him and gave him a noogie

"I didn't mean it that way.." Kawamura replied "But..you should really watch out."

Momo stopped "For what? Shes just another stepping stone, Echizen has nothing to worry about!" He patted Ryoma on the shoulder and smiled

"No."

They turned and faced Tezuka who was in the front, back faced to them

"She is a good opponent for you. You both have equal abilities.." He started to walk slowly "..and she might even be one step ahead of you"

Echizen narrowed his eyes and flinched at this

"Oi, Tezuka. Whose side are you on?" Kikumaru put his hands on his waist and pouted

"Talking about this really makes me want to see just how good she is" Fuji smiled and said "Echizen seems to have an equal match opponent"

"Echizen can beat anyone" Momo patted Ryoma on the shoulder "Don't let her hurt your pride, just fight!"

They knodded and agreed, Echizen remained silent

**o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o**

The bell rang as Lunch break began, everyone struggled to get out of the classroom into the cafeteria

"Shuurei" China ran up to her friend in the hall

Shuurei smiled and tilted her head "Whats up?"

China frowned and put her hands on her hips "You know whats up! I was worried when you just disappeared yesterday!"

"Oh?" Shuurei stared at the ceiling "Is that so?"

"Shuurei!" China scolded

Her friend sighed and stopped "I was fine. I just went out for a bit. Thats all."

"A _bit?_ Sakuno said that you came back at 11!"

"actually, it was 10:51"

"whatever."

"SHUUREI!" China rushed in front of her and wore a mean look "STOP ACTING LIKE YOU DON'T CARE, YOU KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF YOU PLAY TENNIS AGAIN!"

"SHUT UP!" Shuurei blurted out and clutched her hands "I KNOW WHAT I'M DOING"

"WHAT _ARE _YOU DOING?"

Shuurei calmed down and stared at her friend

"I-"

Chinatsu saddened her face and walked up to Shuurei, placing her hands in hers

"Shuurei. Don't do it. Remember what tennis did to you? It ruined your life. Look what happened to your brother and your sister. Its all because of Tennis that your life is a disaster. Don't let it go any further" She stared straight into her friends eyes "Promise me, don't do it."

Shuurei stared back at her, wide eyed. China clutched her hands tighter

She nodded.

China smiled with relief and let her go.

"Come now, lets go get lunch" She grinned

Shuurei smiled back

China turned around and began to walk slowly behind Shuurei, smirking.

**o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o**

"What should I get today.."

Momoshiro scanned the cafeteria list, deciding what he should have

"Hurry up, Momo. We're not waiting for you forever." Oishi sweatdropped and said

"Where were you these days, Oishi?" Eiji said while carrying his tray of food, preparing to go back to his table.

"Ah you know. Things to do" He replied

"Ah."

"Ive decided! I'll have combo 3" Momoshiro grinned

"You do that." Eiji sweatdropped

"What about you Kiddo?" Momo turned to Echizen, who was just standing blankly beside him

"I'm not hungry." He put his hands in his pockets and headed out towards the door

"Jeez...whats wrong with him"

**o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o**

Shuurei looked into the bathroom mirror, splashing water onto her face to cool herself down.

_"_China's right. I cant do it. I mustn't" she said to herself boldly, thinking about what her friend had told her before.

She sighed and reached into her pocket. She widened her eyes, something was missing.

She rummaged through her pockets, checking every single one she had on her. It was no use.

The photo was missing.

'_Where...'_ She panicked "Where is it!?"

She ran out of the bathroom and searched around the halls from top to bottom

It was no use.

That photo was very important to her, she has been protecting it ever since that day her brother left this world. It was the only memento she had that she was never ready to give up.

_Where is it now?_

She ran up the stairs to the roof of the school

"Maybe I dropped it up there when I was looking at the view.." She wondered

Shuurei opened the door and charged outside, looking around the area. She took a few steps and searched, then saddened

"Its not here..."

"Whats not here?"

She turned around and saw Echizen standing in front of her, in his usual hands-in-pockets pose.

Shuurei frowned. She didn't want to ask him, but it left her no choice

"Have you seen a photo of some sort?"

"No."

"..."

"Of what?"

"Something"

"Someone?"

"A guy."

"Your Lover?"

"NO!"

Shuurei blushed and crossed her arms "Jeez, I knew I shouldn't have asked you. Your no help at all" She pouted and faced the other way

Echizen slowly reached his hand out and held a photo between his two fingers. He flipped it backwards, revealing the person in the photo

Shuurei slowly turned head to the photo and widened her eyes, noticing it was hers, she fiercely reached out and tried to snatch it back, Ryoma pulled it out of her reach

"GIVE IT" She frowned and narrowed her eyes

"Have you took the request to consideration?"

She froze and slowly lowered her hand, staring at the ground

Echizen slipped the photo back into his pocket and walked off

"I'll be keeping this for now." He paused "Until you win me"

Shuurei stood there, not bothering to stop him for the first time

'_No..I mustn't...I_..'

Echizen walked down the stairs, seeing China on the way. She stared at him for a few seconds, then ran up to the door and charged outside

"SHUUREI!" She ran to her friend, who was on her knees on the ground, shaking as she hugged herself tightly

China bent down and set her hand on her back

"What happened? I saw Echizen while coming up here, what did he say to you?" She asked anxiously

"My photo..."

China stared at her friend "You mean...the one of your.."

Shuurei nodded

"Shuurei...no matter what." Chinai warned again "You absolutely can't."

'_China...I'm sorry._'

**o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o**

The rest of the afternoon was calm and peaceful as usual, people gathered around as the last school bell rang for dismissal

Echizen walked out of his classroom carrying his tennis racket and his schoolbag behind his back and on his shoulder, it was a long, tiring day.

"Hey, Echizen" Momo walked beside him, giving him a friendly smile

"Hey."

"Want to go get something to eat?"

"Is that all you think about?"

"Pretty Much"

Echizen sighed, his mind was on something else

--FLASHBACK--

"She is a good opponent for you. You both have equal abilities.." He started to walk slowly "..and she might even be one step ahead of you"

Echizen narrowed his eyes and flinched at this

"Oi, Tezuka. Whose side are you on?" Kikumaru put his hands on his waist and pouted

"Talking about this really makes me want to see just how good she is" Fuji smiled and said "Echizen seems to have an equal match opponent"

--END OF FLASHBACK--

Echizen pictured her warm smile

"Is she that good.."

"Eh?"

"Ah, sorry."

Momo sighed "Are you still thinking about that? Like I said, you don't have to worry. She looks nothing but a beginner"

"Thats right!" Kikumaru appeared out of nowhere and walked beside Echizen

"you _think_". You still cant let your guard down" Inui popped up too

"Right. That cute face of hers can't be there just for show. We can't be deceived by it" Fuji suddenly appeared and said

"Jeez, why do you all keep popping up out of nowhere like cockroaches..." Momoshiro said as he sweatdropped

Soon, the while gang was there once again as they turned the next corner,

"Why did you want to challenge her anyway?" Kaidoh asked

Kikumaru grinned "You know Echizen, challenges every strong person he meets" He pointed out

"Ah. Right."

"Then why-"

They stopped, someone slowly walked up behind the corner and stood in front of them

It was Shuurei.

'_Talk about bad timing_' Momo frowned

Shuurei stared with her dark eyes, they showed determination

"Ryoma Echizen" she said

Echizen stared back

"I..accept your challenge."

Everyone froze for a second or two, then stared at the tense atmosphere between the two

Echizen lowered his head and smirked

"16 hours from now, Seishun Tennis courts"

Shuurei smirked back

"Alright."

**o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o**

"S-She.."

Tomoka panted and fell onto her knees "Yeah..thats what I heard!"

Sakuno froze and stared at her friend, not understanding the current situation

"Shuurei..is having a match with Ryoma-kun?"

Tomoka nodded in reply

"Well.." She stood up and smiled "We already know that Ryoma-sama will win, so theres nothing to fret about!" She said

"I Guess.." Sakuno smiled

"We have to make sure we'll be there to cheer Ryoma-sama! He cant win a match when theres no one there to support him!"

Sakuno sweatdropped '_She forgot about the other members..._'

"I wonder what the match is going to be like.." Sakuno thought with curiosity

Tomoka frowned "You mean whats its _not_ going to be like" She smiled and twirled one of her pigtails "..Shuurei winning, that is. No Offense to your cousin though. I just personally think Ryoma is the best!"

Tomoka grabbed her bag and skipped down the street

"Be up at 5:30am, Sakuno! We have to get there extra early! The match will be interesting" She waved without turning back

Sakuno twitched "5...30...am.."

"You'll be there, right?"

Sakuno turned around and saw her cousin glancing at her cheerfully

"A-Ah yes.." Sakuno blushed, wondering if she overheard their conversation "Of course"

Shuurei smiled "Then, I hope you'll be cheering me on!"

"Y-Yes..of course..." She hesitated and pulled a smile

"Yay!" Her cousin grinned and turned around, but then slowly changed her expression

'_Ryoma-kun...' _Sakuno thought _"_Shuurei?"

Shuurei turned on her charm and turned around "Yeah?"

"How do you..plan on winning?"

Sakuno stared at her blankly for a few seconds, then looked at the ground nervously

"T-That is...Ryoma-kun.." She stared at her "Isn't that easy to defeat"

Shuurei laughed nervously

"I know, its not like thats that first time I've heard that" She faded her smile "'I'm planning on winning...in other words..."

She looked at her cousin "I will not lose."

**o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o**

"**_Alright Echizen! Go get her!"_**

"Yeah yeah, I know"

Ryoma yawned as he prepared to go to Seishun tennis courts, as promised. It was already exactly 6:00am, so he had to hurry

"Look, I need to go eat. Can I hang up now?" He made a frustrated face as he said to Momo, who was on the phone

"**_Of course not, You need lots of support or else you'll feel down_**"

"And If I don't eat, I'll also have no energy" He pointed out

There was a long pause

"_**...fine.**_" He hung up recklessly

Echizen sighed of relief and opened the door heading down to the kitchen, until he saw his father, Nanjiroh sitting down on the kitchen chair reading the newspaper from afar

He raised an eyebrow, wondering what his father was doing up so early. He walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge

"Why are you up?" Echizen grabbed a carton of milk and shut the fridge door without turning back

"I could say the same to you" Nanjiro looked up from the paper "Why are you up?"

Ryoma didn't answer, but simply took a seat across from his dad biting a piece of toast

"Some kind of special match?"

Echizen averted his eyes "Yeah"

"I see." He glanced at him "Shuurei Kanzaki?"

Ryoma froze on his 3rd bite

His dad dropped the newspaper onto the table

Echizen placed his piece of toast down on the plate and scanned the list his father was referring to

It was headlined by the montly tennis pro, **Top Worldwide Tennis Prodigies **in big, bold letters

He could see his opponents name in it, and didn't bother finish scanning the rest of the list

Nanjiroh eyed him "Its her right? Ryuuzaki's 2nd granddaughter"

Echizen stared, her name repeated inside his head many times

Finally, he stood up and walked our of the kitchen, grabbing his tennis racket

Nanjiroh stood up and grinned "Good Luck, Echizen Ryoma."

**o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o**


	6. Spiral, and the shocking act of Betrayal

**The Love Story That Never Was- Chapter Five: Spiral, and the shocking act of Betrayal!**

Sakura1106: MY FIRST APPEARANCE! ohohoho

LadyEviruelle: ;o; save me

Sakura1106: : D so what will be happening in this chapter?

LadyEviruelle: I thought I gave you enough spoilers!

Sakura1106: ;u; I can have more right?

Shuurei: hey.

Sakura1106: EEEEEE ITS A GHOST -jumps onto LadyEviruelle and strangles her-

Shuurei: How rude, Is this how you treat OC's?

LadyEviruelle: get back in the story will you? your match didn't even start yet

* * *

"**WHY?**"

"Because I want to."

Shuurei sat herself down on the bench and held her silver cellphone by her ear, fiddling with the handle of her yellow racket

"**SHUUREI! I thought I told you not to! Its for your own good!**" China said, yelling from the other line

She sighed and looked at the ground " I-"

"**Not only that."** China interrupted, She sounded calmer. "**Remember your vow**"

Shuurei stopped and widened her eyes

"_**Tennis just brings misfortune. There is no meaning to it. **_**_I will never set my hands on a tennis racket again. _What happened to those words?**_"_

There was a long silence over the phone, Shuurei stared at the racket in her hands

"I know."

"**you know. YOU KNOW. then why!?**"

Shuurei frowned and shot up from her seat "You know, why do you care so much anyway!? My past is none of your business, and I have the right to make my own decisions!"

Silence.

"**I-I'm just worried! I have no other motive!**"

'_my ass_.' Shuurei thought. She pressed the hang up button and and shoved her phone into the pocket of her jacket and made a mad face

"Quarrel Much?"

She turned around and saw Echizen, he was carrying his tennis racket the usual way and stared at her

She frowned and averted her eyes to the bench "Its none of your business either"

Ryoma unzipped his jacket and threw it on the bench, he tilted his cap down

"Well..shall we begin?"

She stared at him curiously "Your not waiting for your friends?"

"Its fine" He walked to his side of the court, then stopped "When they get here, the match will already be over."

**o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o**

"**How can you let her!?**"

"I DIDN'T! I specifically told her NOT to play in that match! She doesn't even care about her stupid past anymore!" China threw herself down on a beanbag chair and brushed a bang away from her face as she held the phone by her ear

"**FORGET ABOUT THAT! Its too late now**, **win or lose you mustn't let her population be reborn in any way"**

China narrowed her dark eyes and smirked in the shadows "Of course not"

**o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o**

"Hurry up guys, or we won't get to see Echizen beat that girl!" Momo and Eiji ran to the back of the school where the tennis courts were

"_Girl.._She has a name you know" Kaidoh remarked

"Oh you be quiet!"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY!?"

Eiji sweatdropped "Jeez, we really might be late if those two don't stop fighting.."

"Yeah! Ryoma-sama needs our support!" Tomoka frowned and placed her hands on her waist

"Tomo-chan.." Sakuno said as she walked with the others "You seem extra enthusiastic today"

"I am!" Tomoka smiled "This is Ryoma-sama and your cousin I'm talking about! It should be interesting to see if she has your tennis instincts"

'_Somehow, I find that insulting.._' Sakuno sweatdropped and twitched weakly

Fuji smiled "I think it just started"

The 8 of them looked at Fuji's view and saw the two on the courts, preparing to start the match

"Interesting. This data will definitely be worth it" Inui took out his notebook and prepared to take notes

"What are you playing for?"

Shuurei raised an eyebrow

Echizen reached into his pocket and took out the previous photo "This, perhaps?"

"Eh?" Eiji grabbed the fence and stared at the photo he was holding "Whats that?"

Sakuno stared at the familiar picture "Thats.."

Shuurei narrowed her eyes

Echizen placed it back into his pocket and patted it "Like I said, if you win me, I'll return this to you"

"_This guy..._" Shuurei thought "_Blackmailing me like that.."_

"I'll be the scorekeeper"

They watched as Tezuka walked into the court and sat on the referee's highchair

Echizen eyed him, then back at his opponent

"The game will have 3 matches in total" He announced as he got comfortable

"SHUUREIIIII!"

Shuurei turned to the group observing and saw China panting madly on the ground

"China..."

Her friend stood back up and cupped her mouth "GO SHUUREI! DON'T LOSE!"

Tomoka frowned and stuck her tongue out secretly "GO! RYOMA-SAMA!"

"Why are you here..." Momo sweatdropped

China placed her hands on her waist "What do you mean _Where are you here?_! to witness Shuurei win of course!"

"As if" crossed his arms and rolled his eyes

Shuurei laughed silently

"Hey now" Fuji said "its not just about winning" He pointed out

Eiji sighed and turned back to the court "I guess thats true"

"Hmph" Momo frowned "Saved" He mumbled

"What was that!?" China flinched

"Looks like Echizen's serving first"

They looked at Inui, then at Echizen

he was using his right hand.

Tomoka brightened up and jumped up and down

"GO! GO! RYOMA-SAMA! Sakuno stop spacing out and cheer with me! RYOMA-SAMA!"

" _I wonder what tricks of hers is she going to use on him..._' China crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at Shuurei, who was carefully focusing on her opponent

Echizen bounced the tennis ball up and down, he eyed Shuurei

"You seem serious about this." He clutched the ball in his hands "Just who is that guy in the picture?"

Shuurei was silent for a few seconds with her determined look

"My deceased brother."

"Shuurei's Nii-san?" Eiji raised an eyebrow and folded his arms behind his head

"Brother.." Tomoka spaced out, then turned to Sakuno with a "..." look "You have another cousin."

Sakuno sweatdropped and laughed nervously "I did not know that"

China widened her eyes and stared at Shuurei

'_That girl...she actually had the guts to tell a complete stranger her personal life.._'

"I won't hold back then" Echizen said

Shuurei smirked and slouched down into position "Bring it on."

Echizen bounced the ball a few times, he jumped up and hit the ball with his racket as he sent a twist serve towards his opponent's direction

'_Twist serve right off the bat huh?_' Inui watched carefully '_50 percent of the people we played were able to defend this'_'

Shuurei stood still like a statue, not even bothering to move

"Heh." Momo smirked "Thats already a point for-"

Echizen widened his eyes and stared at the ball that was stuck in a hole in the fence

Its out. The ball was out.

Kawamura slammed his fist on the fence "What!?"

"EH!?" Tomoka screamed, Sakuno covered her ears

"Tomo-chan..."

Kaidoh flinched "What just happened?"

"The balls rotation, it changed" Fuji crossed his arms and frowned

"Is that even possible?" Oishi asked

"The normal twist serve would usually first spin on the ground, then would aim at the opponents face making it difficult to return " Inui adjusted his glasses "Somehow, that serve Echizen performed wasnt like that at all"

"..Instead, the ball traveled down a few inches above the ground then shot a meter away from the opponent" Fuji added "It must be one of her techniques"

"Eh?" Tomoka stared from Fuji to Shuurei "Amazing.."

Sakuno made a worried face and looked at Echizen '_Ryoma-kun..._'

"0-15" Tezuka called out

Eiji looked at Inui with a disappointed face, then back at Echizen and Shuurei

"Has the twist serve been sealed _already_?"

**o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o**

"Whats he going to do now?" Momo put his hands on his waist

"You dare to even ask that?" Eiji grinned "Don't forget he has all his other moves. The twist serve being sealed is kind of expected"

"It was luck" Momo smiled "It had to be"

'_is it?_' Shuurei smirked

Ryoma narrowed his eyes to her and prepared to serve again

"He just doesn't give up on it" Fuji said

"Its no use" Shuurei said as the ball zoomed past her like it did before "Your twist has been sealed"

"0-30"

Ryoma clutched his racket

'_She still has the old touch_' Chinatsu averted her eyes from the match '_that Shuurei..._'

Shuurei tilted her head and a bang fled down, covering one of her eyes

"Come on, giving up already?"

'_Ryoma-kun..Shuurei..._" Sakuno clutched her hands together

Kaidoh crossed his arms and grunted "Shes not as bad as I thought"

"GO GO! RYOMA-SAMA!" Tomoka clutched her fists and jumped in the air "DON'T GET ALL STRESSED! CONCENTRATE! FIGHT!!"

"I don't need you to tell me that"

Tomoka sweatdropped

He threw the ball in the air, but this time it was a regular serve

'_regular serve huh?_' Shuurei ran backwards a few steps and hit it back

It was like this for awhile.

"Its just a regular game" Sakuno said "Why isn't anything happening?"

"Shes clever."

They turned to Inui, who was scribbling down notes

"Playing his game..trying to make eachother do something interesting" He looked up "A moment of endurance"

"RYOMA-SAMA! WIN WIN!" Tomoka chanted loudly

'_Fine...if you won't do anything...then I will!_'' Shuurei hit a chance ball into the air, making it look like a mere accident

Ryoma narrowed his eyes at this and slid towards the net

"Its-!" Sakuno smiled

The ball bounced 2 times by Shuurei, who looked completely calm and relaxed

"15-30"

She smirked "..Sliding towards the net and jumping to perform a topspin drive volley with 2 consecutive bounces" Shuurei recited "A perfect Drive B"

Momo flinched and held up a fist "That smartass...acting all that"

Tomoka sweatdropped "At least shes not as dumb as she looks.."

"Hey, be friendly now" Oishi sweatdropped

'_Shuurei...usually she'd just wipe the opponent out all at once' _China narrowed her eyes at her '_Rather..._'

She observed her friend carefully

'.._.has she stopped using THAT technique?_'

"Shuurei's serve" Tezuka called out and watched her as she took out a ball from her pocket

Shuurei bounced the ball a few times 'I'm.." She threw it in the air "going to win my picture back!" The ball slid down on the other side of the court and disappeared in an instant

"Where did it go? An Illusion?" Kikumaru said

Shuurei smirked, Echizen narrowed his eyes and looked around the court for its appearance

"15-40" Tezuka called out

"WHAT!?" Momo grimaced "We didn't even see where the ball went to!"

Chinatsu pointed her finger behind Echizen, expressionless.

Kikumaru followed her view, then widened his eyes

The ball was stuck between the fence, it was damaged a little

"S-Since when.."

Shuurei threw the ball into the air and prepared to repeat her technique

'_in this type of situation..._' Echizen looked at the bottom of the court for the ball's shadow, then froze with horror

There was no type of shadow at all.

"0-1" Tezuka raised his hand "Game to Kanzaki"

"Disappearing Act"

Everyone turned and looked at China while she stared at the two of them with her dark, sharp eyes

'_that move..._' She leaned on her side '_she used it on THAT day...''_

"Where did the ball REALLY go—, since theres no shadow?" Kawamura asked curiously

"Theres only one person that knows that" Fuji smiled "Miss Kanzaki herself" He eyed her carefully

Tomoka frowned and stomped on the ground

"Ryoma-sama's lost one match already!! 2 more and hes done for!!" She held up 2 of her fingers to indicate her point "SAKUNO! your not cheering!" She forcefully grabbed her friends hand and shot it into the air

"Y-Yes...GO RYOMA-KUN!" Sakuno blushed

Shuurei panted as she glanced at the audience, More people were starting to come and watch

She smiled and caught a ball in her left hand that Echizen had tossed to her

"I'm going to finish this."

China widened her eyes and madly slammed her fist on the fence

"It cant be...Spiral?"

"Spiral...?" Kikumaru raised an eyebrow

Echizen jumped up and down, eyes toward his opponent preparing to take whatevers coming

Shuurei threw the ball in the air, preparing to make her serve

Echizen narrowed his eyes, he furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head a few times, refreshing his eyesight

"0-15"

"ECHIZEN!!" Momo shouted "DON'T LOSE TO A GIRL!!"

'_What just happened there..._' Ryoma thought surprised '_Why did it look like she didn't even hit the ball?_' He turned around to see the ball behind him

"So that's Spiral" Oishi said "It makes the opponent think that she didn't hit the ball, when she actually did."

"What happens after that? It seemed like the ball went like a spiral around the court and just disappeared all of a sudden" Tomoka said curiously

Shuurei picked up the ball, and prepared to repeat her technique

Again, all she did was throw it in the air. It was unclear after that stage

"0-30"

"Its blurry" Sakuno narrowed her eyes and bent forward, trying to see what her cousin was doing

'_of course._' Chinatsu thought '_The Spiral is almost impossible to see through_'

'_perfect_' Shuurei smiled '_this way, I'll win easily._' She tossed the ball and continuously did the technique again

"0-40"

"Damn." Momo flinched "At this rate..what will he do? She seems to have a number of tricks up her sleeve.." He turned his eyes towards Echizen, who still looked completely calm

"Inui. Can you see whats happening?" Kaidoh turned towards him and asked as Shuurei performed the technique the 4th time

Inui shook his head "Its no use."

"0-2 Game to Kanzaki" Tezuka called out, he eyed Echizen as if he expected him to do something about it

Just at that moment, China's phone started to ring. It was a peaceful tone that rung a few times

"Sorry" She apologized and took it out of her pocket as she ran

Shuurei walked to the coach's bench while Echizen walked to his

She looked at it then raised an eyebrow

"I forgot my water bottle" she muttered to herself and walked out of the court

**o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o**

"Hello?" She slowly started to walk as she stopped around the near corner

"One game already!" China grunted and rolled her eyes

There was a few moment of silence as she waited for her reply

China widened her eyes "THEN YOU COME HERE AND DO IT YOURSELF!"

There was a loud smash heard from the other line

"**CHINA! YOU KNOW THAT THERE'S NOTHING I CAN DO WHILE I'M IN MY CURRENT CONDITION!!"**

She took a deep breath and smirked

"Anyway, she won't win." China said in a satisfied way "Her spiral has been sealed— I know right? Ryoma Echizen is incredible. Shuurei doesn't stand a chance. I'll make sure she loses so she will never be heard of ever again"

"**China..your doing a good job. Your not going to back out of it, right?"**

She stayed silent for a few seconds, then placed her hand on her waist

"Of course I won't back out of this. I didn't play best-friend-for-life for nothing!" She smirked

"**Alright then**"

China pressed the hand up button and shook her face, turning on her charm as she turned around to go back to the game

She froze with horror

Shuurei stood there, right beside the corner, emotionless, staring at her best friend that seemed like a complete fraud

They were both silent for a few moments, China stood there fidgeting with her black flip phone as she moved her head the other way, avoiding her friend's gaze

"China.." Shuurei began as she shook her head in disappointment "Why?"

China didn't answer, but simply started tapping her foot

"This isn't the China that I know-, what-"

"I was never the China that you knew" She stopped her habits and looked back at Shuurei, interrupting her sentence

"But..why?"

China clicked her tongue and folded her arms

Shuurei took a step and walked closer to her former friend "We're best friends. I thought you wanted me to win"

She laughed and narrowed her eyes at Shuurei "_Best Friends?_ As If." She mimicked in a horrible tone

China crossed her arms and walked a step closer to her until she was only 15cm away from Shuurei's face that showed anger and sadness

"No one acknowledges any other tennis players in grade school because they only focused on you. How about letting others take the spotlight once in a while?"

"I-"

"Have you ever thought about why Sae left you in the first place?"

Shuurei widened her eyes

"She absolutely despised you. She never wanted to see your face appear ever again. Your the one that took her dream away and made it your own. Do you know what kind of hell shes going through right now?"

Shuurei shook her head as she denied the fact "I didn't-"

"Same with me."

China furrowed her eyebrows "We've known eachother ever since we were born. We did everything together. Until you found out that tennis was your life and went for the nationals."

She walked past her and turned around

"Do you plan to lose all your friends for tennis? Just to leave them behind and go reach for your dream? Are they not as important?"

"China."

Shuurei looked down and clutched her hand

"Friends are very important to me. I actually enjoyed all the time I was with you"

Shuurei furrowed her eyebrows as she spiraled down in misery "But.."

"..I never knew I would come to this conclusion— that you were the jinx in my life"

They were silent for a few moments

"I just wanted to let you know that losing in life isn't the end of the world." China said

'_..and to make you live a life through neverending hell'_ She thought and smirked

"And have you forgotten..." She started "..that the Spiral was a combination technique that you and Sae created together? Wasn't it said to be forbidden until you two reunite?"

Those were her last words, as she disappeared around the corner leaving Shuurei standing, speechless

Shuurei's eyes widened to her former friend's words, A lot of things were racing through her mind as her body spiraled down through misery, she wondered where she went wrong.

Mom, Dad, Sae, Shoka

and now Chinatsu.

* * *

-whew- finally finished this chapter! Sorry If I take a long time to update on this story, I'm gonna be really busy this week so It might be a bit slow than usual

- **Eviruelle**


	7. Game, Set, Match

**The Love Story That Never Was- Chapter Six: Game, Set, Match.  
**

* * *

Echizen spun his racket in his palm as he waited patiently for Shuurei's return

"Ryoma-kun..." Sakuno wore her usual worried look, she turned to face Tomoka who was now pouting with anger

"Whats going to happen?"

Tomoka grunted and averted her head the other direction "Your cousin's sure taking a long time"

'_Shes not listening..' _Sakuno dropped her head down and sweatdropped in defeat

"Shes not the only one taking a long time" Oishi pointed to the spot China was standing at "Wasn't she just answering a call?"

Kikumaru shrugged and folded his arms behind his head "Maybe something came up"

"Shes coming!"

They turned around and saw Shuurei, she was looking palely at the ground while she dragged herself into the court

"Woah" Kawamura widened his eyes "What happened?"

"Its none of our business. Since shes back, they can resume the game now right?" Momo smirked with confidence

Echizen watched as she stopped in her spot, he waited until she said something

she didn't.

"0-2 Echizen's serve" Tezuka called out as he raised his arm

"GO! RYOMA-SAMA!"

"Shuurei?" Sakuno started at her cousin, who was just standing there waiting to be controlled like a puppet '_I wonder what happened..._'

She turned her head and looked around her

'_looks like China-san won't be coming back..._'

Echizen eyed his opponent, he too, wondered the same thing

He thew the ball into the air, performing another perfect twist serve

"GO!! RYOMA-SAMA! GOOO RY-" Tomoka froze in horror

Shuurei collapsed onto the ground, clutching her eye as she bent her head down

_Clunk_.

She dropped her racket, letting it fall loose in her hands as she whimpered

She felt her eyes wet as tears gathered up, before she knew it, tears came pouring madly down her cheeks

Echizen stood there, wide eyed as he felt a surge of guilt and shock run through him

"Shuurei!" Sakuno widened her eyes

F L A S H B A C K

Echizen fell onto the ground, clutching his right eye with pain as his racket snapped in half and injured his eye

Sakunos eyes grew big as she watched him hopelessly on the ground, defeated

F L A S H B A C K

Shuurei clutched her hands on the ground as her tear stains continuously started to appear, Sakuno ran to the entrance as the others followed behind her

Tezuka climbed down the ref's chair and walked to her, placing a hand on her shoulder while he crouched down

"Are you alright?"

Shuurei gulped, but didn't answer as she continued to cry in silence

Tezuka eyed the rest, they gave him a signal and nodded

He stood up and raised his arm

"Game, Set and match to Echizen Ryoma"

Momo turned around and looked, there was now a whole crowd that were whispering and talking as they watched the scene

"_Whats going on here?"_

"_Whats wrong with that girl?_"

"Woah" He widened his eyes "You guys gathered up a whole audience"

"Sakuno" Fuji said, ignoring Momo's remark "Take Shuurei to the school nurse"

She nodded and helped her cousin stand up as she put an arm around her, supporting her as they walked

"Echizen" Oishi said "What happened?"

He didn't reply, but simply shoved his hands into his pockets

"Don't feel bad Echizen" Momo folded his arms behind his head "You won"

"I didn't say anything did I?" Ryoma tilted his cap and bent his head "after all, shes the one that moved in the way of the ball" He said as he walked away from the group.

'_Shes not crying over the pain in her injury_' Fuji thought

**o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o**

Sakuno pushed open the door with one hand as she supported Shuurei into the nurse's room

Shuurei clutched her eye with her hand as she tried to gulp down her tears

"Oh my"

The two looked up and saw someone with a white uniform that happened to be the school nurse. She had thick black glasses and long streaky brown hair, she looked no more than 23 years old. Her name was Hanako

She walked towards Shuurei and bent down to have a closer look

"What happened here? have you played too rough in that match?"

The room was silent for a few moments

"Um..Hanako-senpai" Sakuno started "How did you know?"

"Ah" Hanako straightened up and smiled in reply "Everyone's talking about it. News spread fast you know"

Shuurei froze and narrowed her eyes at her

"Umm..anyway" Sakuno said, breaking the intense atmosphere "'Can you treat her eye? She injured it during the match.."

"Yeah, of course. Have a seat" She said as she indicated her finger to the nearby bed

Shuurei walked to where she pointed and dropped her self down on her bottom

"Alright, lets have a look" Hanako pulled up a chair in front of her and pulled Shuurei's hand off, revealing her swollen, black eye

"Ouch" She said as she examined it

Sakuno peered over her shoulder and took a look at it, she widened her eyes in fear

"Well" Hanako placed a finger on Shuurei's eyelid, causing her to flinch "Its swollen really badly, and its bleeding a bit on the inside"

"Here, dry your tears" Sakuno said quietly and handed her a handkerchief

Hanako rolled her chair over to the counter and opened the door, taking out an eye bandage and closed it back

She placed it on top of Shuurei's eye, making her flinch again as she pushed the tape on, sealing it.

"There you go" She grinned "Be careful while playing next time, don't want to come back with a broken bone"

Hanako grabbed a clipboard from the desk and opened the door

"You guys can stay in here to rest"

"Ah, wait" Sakuno ran to the door and turned back "I need to go tell the senpai's that your okay, wouldn't want them worrying" She said as she ran out

Shuurei watched as the door slowly closed with a loud click.

**o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o**

Echizen walked down the hall to class, ignoring all the glances and whispers behind him

"_I heard he beat Kanzaki Shuurei_"

"_Yeah, on top of that he injured her eye too_"

"_You mean the Shuurei that transferred into our class?_"

"_Yeah! Didn't you hear that she was an awesome tennis player!?_"

"Echizen!"

Ryoma stopped and turned back, He saw Horio, Katsuo, and Kachiro running up to him

"Y-You...Shuurei.." Horio said as he panted

Echizen blinked a few times, then turned around and started to walk again as he lost interest

"Hey!"

Ryoma tilted his head, he sharpened his eyes and started at the ground

F L A S H B A C K

Echizen walked to the fountain for a drink, he still looked as calm as ever

He heard a nearby laugh, then stopped and peeked past the corer

"_Best Friends?_ As If."

China crossed her arms and walked a step closer to her until she was only 15cm away from Shuurei's face that showed anger and sadness

"No one acknowledges any other tennis players in grade school because they only focused on you. How about letting others take the spotlight once in a while?"

Echizen perked his ear up

"I-"

"Have you ever thought about why Sae left you in the first place?"

"She absolutely despised you. She never wanted to see your face appear ever again. Your the one that took her dream away and made it your own. Do you know what kind of hell shes going through right now?"

Ryoma narrowed his eyes at this, he didn't know about Shuurei's past

Shuurei shook her head as she denied the fact "I didn't-"

"Same with me."

China furrowed her eyebrows "We've known eachother ever since we were born. We did everything together. Until you found out that tennis was your life and went for the nationals."

She walked past her and turned around

"And have you forgotten...that the spiral was what you and Sae created together? wasn't it forbidden until you know reunite?"

He widened his eyes, then retrieved from his eavesdropping

'_Kanzaki Sae..its her_.'

E N D O F F L A S H B A C K

"ECHIZEN! ARE YOU LISTENING?"

Ryoma blinked and looked at his friends "What?"

Horio furrowed his eyebrows and flung his hands up in shock

"Are the rumors true? You outwitted Ryuuzaki's Granddaughter?"

Echizen stopped and pulled the door open to his classroom to walk in

"If thats what they say, then it must be true."

Kachiro stopped and gasped "so it IS true!"

Echizen walked to his seat and dropped himself down in exhaust from all the commotion

he shifted his head to the seat beside him, it was empty

'_Looks like shes not back yet_'

"Alright class"

The students all stopped chatting, making the room silent as they ran back to their seats obeying their sensei"

The door slowly crept open, they turned around to see who it was

Shuurei entered the silent room, closing the door behind her looking at the floor as she walked to her seat

The class stared at her patched eye, a faint amount of blood was leaking through

"_It really is bad"_

"_yeah_"

She sat down on her seat quietly and glanced at the teacher

"Um.." Sensei clapped her hands and grinned nervously "Well then, lets start class"

Horio leaned over his desk and cupped his mouth with a hand

"_You shouldn't injure girls you know _" He whispered

"_You think I wanted to?_" Echizen whispered back fiercely

Horio averted his eyes to Shuurei

"_Don't you feel sorry?_"

"No talking"

The two immediately looked at the teacher as they were in a middle of a lesson

**A F T E R C L A S S**

Echizen walked down the halls after class, his bag slided around his shoulders as he walked

He came upon to class 2-7 and took a peek in the empty classroom

'_looks like she really didn't come_' He thought, referring to China's sudden disappearance

"Hey"

He shifted around surprisingly to see Kaidoh behind him

"You didn't leave yet?" He asked

Ryoma shook his head as she started to walk with Kaidoh following behind him

They were silent for a few moments, then he finally spoke

"She really is good"

Ryoma averted his eyes towards him, knowing that he was referring to Shuurei

"That technique.." Kaidoh started while looked up "_Spiral..._Its pretty impressive"

"No"

Kaidoh looked at him

Echizen lowered his head and looked at the ground "She didn't perform all of it. Theres more to it."

Kaidoh blinked, and looked forward again

"I see."

Echizen stopped as the two of them reached outside of the school

"I just remembered I had something to do" he said

Kaidoh blinked and nodded, then started to walk ahead

Echizen ran up the stairs and into the school, hoping that they didn't lock the classrooms yet

As he reached the classroom, he silently slid the door open and looked around, everyone already went home

He walked into the classroom and stood in front of a desk, slowly placing a piece of paper on it then walking back to the door, closing it exiting the classroom

He proceeded to walk down the hall, but then stopped halfway as he saw Shuurei walking his way in an abnormal pace with her arms moving back and forth as she walked. Sakuno was behind her, trying to catch up with her cousin's speed

Shuurei fled by Echizen, sending a light blow as she walked past him

'_Shuurei.._' Sakuno ran a few steps, still trying to catch up to her cousin

Ryoma stood in the same spot, he tilted his head and looked at the ground

"Hows your eye?"

Shuurei began to slowly walk, then stopped

Sakuno stopped in the middle as Echizen and Shuurei faced back to back to eachother

"Its _fine." _She replied coldly, heaving her tone sarcastically on her last word "You _won_. whats there to worry about?"

"No"

Sakuno turned her head to Echizen as he shoved his hands into his pockets

"I wont accept this as a win" He said as he started to walk

Shuurei didn't answer

"We'll continue the match in the near future." Hesaid "..you might be better than me" He finished as he disappeared around the corner

Shuurei stood there for a second, shocked with his words. Then proceeded to walk with her speed

"S-Shuurei!" Sakuno ran up to her

Shuurei fiercely opened the door and stomped into the classroom, stopping by her desk and slammed her fist onto it, making a loud sound that made Sakuno jump in surprise

She watched her cousin as she trembled onto the ground, falling onto her bottom while supporting herself with the desk.

She was crying again.

Sakuno widened her eyes and ran to her, bending down and placing her hand on her cousin's stiff back

"Lets go home."

She supported Shuurei and helped her up from the ground, holding her arm

"Eh?" Sakuno looked at the ground

Shuurei looked to where her cousin was looking, then widened her eyes

She immediately bent down and picked up the photo on the ground with her two fingers

She looked at it, then bit her lip

'_He brought it back...even though I lost._'

* * *

Sakura1106: CHINAAAAAAAAAA!! -Grabs China and hits her with a large hammer-

China: Is that a plastic hammer?

Sakura1106: SHUT UP, IT HURTS!

LadyEviruelle: now now, play nicely

Sakura1106: Geez, how could you make poor Shuurei suffer like that!?

China: hmph. its not my fault she and Sae-

LadyEviruelle: HUSH! NO MORE SPOILERS!


	8. NOTICE! SHORT LEAVE

Sorry, I've been a little dead with this fanfic for quite some time ;; I have my reasons.

My brain is not working.

Lazy.

Busy with other Fanfic (WHICH I ACTUALLY HAVE IDEAS FOR 8D)

Start of school.

No Time.

TONS OF HOMEWORK.

Therefore, I do not have time to continue this worthless, and unlovable (According to me D: But thanks everyone for the nice reviews! Love you all for that) Fanfic. So, right now I am taking a short leave from writing and will continue after I am satisfied with my grades and have the urge to write again.

So...FAREWELL FOR NOW

-grabs suitcase and runs to the sunset- UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN.

**- DeathWhisper**


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